Asking for the jail sentence to be suspended, Mr Donnellan said: "A compassionate submission is the only submission I can make.
"When taking account of the declining - and fast declining - mental and physical health of an elderly appellant who has had to go to prison and serve a period in prison, the court should exercise mercy today, as has occasionally been reflected in other cases, by suspending his sentence."
Well, maybe if he’d pleaded guilty right away, rather than fighting tooth & nail until found guilty by a jury…but he didn't, did he?
Mrs Juslice Thirlwall said the court was not persuaded that there should be a suspension, and the appropriate order was a reduction of the sentence to 12 months.
Given his paltry sentence was
only 18 months to begin with, for the death of a woman, the life-changing injuries to another woman and the injuries to seven other pedestrians, this is just monstrous.
Given the complete absence of mens rea in such cases I always struggle to see what purpose custodial sentences serve.
ReplyDeleteThis only leads to vigilante justice. To be honest I'm surprised it isn't commonplace now.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder people want to introduce their own 'local' justice systems. *cough*
Local somewhere like a subcontinent.
Delete"...I always struggle to see what purpose custodial sentences serve."
ReplyDeleteKeeping the mad bastards away from decent people?
"To be honest I'm surprised it isn't commonplace now."
Me too!